USAID Assistance to Burma from 2008 - 2012

USAID has been providing humanitarian assistance to Burma since 2000. In 2008, our efforts scaled up in response to the devastation of Cyclone Nargis. From 2008 to 2012, the has provided a total of $196 million in bilateral foreign assistance funding to support humanitarian needs, promote democracy, and human rights through projects focused on civil society capacity building, health, education, and humanitarian assistance along the Thai-Burma border, in the , and in central Burma.

Civil Society

USAID assistance has strengthened civil society within Burma and among internally displaced persons (IDP) and refugee communities on the Thai-Burma border through the delivery of health, education, emergency assistance, institutional capacity building, media, advocacy, and migrant protection activities. This work has built a strong foundation for new democracy programs to promote future citizen-led advances in the reform process underway. For example, within seven provinces in and six states in eastern Burma, 105 community- based organizations (CBOs) and local NGOs have participated in managerial and technical training. USAID has established four resource centers that continue to provide ongoing capacity building support for CBOs and NGOs. Within central Burma, USAID has established and support 372 democratically elected village development committees, 453 health development funds, 892 mother groups, 575 income generation organizations, and 156 water and sanitation groups. USAID’s civil society strengthening program has increased the capacity of CBOs focusing on child protection, created opportunities for parents and caregivers to participate in local decision-making processes, and built informal networks of teachers working in non-state, community-based schools.

Since 2003, USAID has invested in strengthening independent media, improving access to information and building Burmese ethnic and exile journalists’ technical skills. USAID’s “Journalism School” in Chiang Mai, Thailand has supported over 1,000 journalists on both sides of the Thai-Burma border through mentoring and technical support. The investment in media support has begun to show dividends in 2012. USAID assistance supports the only independent news agency inside Burma, the Myitmakah News Agency, which has played a prominent role in covering the reform process. During the April 2012 bi- elections, journalists trained and mentored by USAID programs produced over 1,500 items in the Burmese press, on social media news websites, and on international shortwave radio services. In the last 18 months, 550 radio items were produced for broadcast on Burmese language services of (VOA), Radio Free Asia, and in the refugee camps along the Thai border. USAID has

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provided 155 small grants to small media groups and individual journalists that have resulted in the production of around 1,000 reports and stories in print, web, radio, and for VOA TV and Democratic Voice of Burma TV.

Health Since 2003, USAID has implemented infectious disease programs focused on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and Avian Influenza. Three Presidential Initiatives are currently implemented in country: the Global Health Initiative (GHI), the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and the Presidential Malaria Initiative (PMI). Along the Thai-Burma border, USAID partnered with the Thai Ministry of and Thai higher education institutes to develop a training curriculum and provide accredited training to over 1,000 community health workers/volunteers. The Thai-Burma border programs have supported these health workers and over 150 health-care facilities to provide basic medical care to approximately 360,000 beneficiaries living in eastern Burma and within refugee camps inside Thailand. Current activities build capacity and mobilize contributions from civil society at the community level for service delivery, advocacy, and health promotion. Through this support improved and more efficient life-saving health services in the areas of maternal/child health and communicable diseases have been delivered.

In central Burma, USAID has improved access to health services for over 20,000 individuals, 73,000 people have improved access to safe drinking water, and little over 20,000 have improved access to sanitation facilities. USAID assistance has provided 158,584 people with a comprehensive package of HIV prevention education to key affected populations most at risk for acquisition and transmission of HIV and ensured 7,852 individuals (4,445 males and 3,407 females) received HIV testing and counseling services across 29 of the most populous cities in Burma.

Two new programs will be launched soon that address maternal and child health care and control of zoonotic diseases (through the Pandemic Influenza and Other Emerging Pandemic Threats program). Risk assessments in bird markets and risk-based poultry surveillance involving 1,000 community-based animal health workers in 78 townships nationwide were conducted after studies documented that 40% of Burma’s high-risk migrant duck population had been exposed to Avian Influenza (H5N1) virus. USAID supported a nationwide TB prevalence survey that revealed a TB prevalence that was three times the previous estimate by the World Health Organization. The health assistance program helped Burma to achieve countrywide first- line drug coverage and second-line tuberculosis drug coverage in Rangoon and Mandalay.

Education With USAID support, 60 community groups have worked to improve education services to those in camps along the Thai-Burma border. Nearly 210 migrant and refugee schools in Thailand and 1,274 schools in eastern Burma receive USAID funds to increase education opportunities and services for displaced Burmese children to foster critical thinking and child-

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centered pedagogy by strengthening parent-teacher organizations and teacher networks. USAID assistance has reached 124,000 students. In addition, USAID has provided higher education support to 17 democracy advocates who completed associate degrees after their access to higher education services in Burma were denied by the government.

Humanitarian Assistance USAID provided humanitarian assistance included livelihood recovery, water, and sanitation and health programs for those affected by Cyclone Nargis in Burma’s Delta. Through USAID support, at least 445,000 individuals benefited from food and emergency materials (hygiene kits, plastic sheeting, mosquito nets, water containers, etc.). In central Burma, USAID’s program addresses pressing humanitarian needs while creating opportunities for inclusive community participation and transparent, accountable decision-making. This program supports basic livelihood needs by providing microfinance services that award loans to village self-reliance Groups.

Over 27,522 community members have gained access to institutional credit with more than 9,104 women given the opportunity to invest in small businesses and other income generating activities. USAID’s support to IDPs and refugees along the Thai-Burma border have created a migrant advocacy network of 32 organizations focusing on migration issues, with concrete impacts on Royal Thai Government law and policy. Over 200,000 beneficiaries have received food assistance in the IDP camps and in conflict zones in eastern Burma.

USAID will continue to helped bolster the coordination of emergency response to reach all parties in need during a conflict, and provision of nutrition, food, water, sanitation, and hygiene assistance for displaced and vulnerable populations in conflict-affected areas nationwide. USAID will help improve civil society groups’ understanding of disaster management and humanitarian best practices, build community awareness and resilience to disasters, assess hazard risks, and prioritize needs.

For more information on our work in Burma, please visit: www.usaid.gov/burma To sign up for USAID’s Burma Info Listserv, go to: http://transition.usaid.gov/cgi-bin/listserv.cgi

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